1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new and improved guard means for chain saws, and more particularly to a new and improved safety bar and safety bar mechanism for mounting on chain saws, which mechanism is capable of preventing serious injury to the user in the event the chain saw recoils or kicks upwardly during operation. The safety bar mechanism of this invention is pivotally mounted on the chain saw above the chain bar and chain, and automatically pivots upwardly as cutting is accomplished from top to bottom of a log or other saw stock. The safety bar may also be pivotally positioned below the chain and chain bar when it is desired to cut the stock from bottom to top. The safety bar mechanism is simple, highly reliable, and provides a high degree of protection to the user, and at the same time adds very little weight and no appreciable bulk to the chain saw. The mechanism can also be designed to be compatible with virtually any chain saw currently manufactured.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, various means have been utilized in the prior art to protect the user of chain saws from injury. One of the chief hazards in using a chain saw is the likelihood of the saw suddenly recoiling, or kicking and bouncing upwardly and rearwardly when the chain strikes a knot, nail, or hard portion of the log or other saw stock being cut. Such an occurrence frequently causes the handle of the chain saw to be suddenly jerked from the user's hand as the saw pivots about the user's grip on the grip bar, and permits the rapidly rotating chain to contact and injure the user. Special tips have been mounted on chain saw bars in order to minimize such occurrences, but these tips have not entirely solved the problem. Various other protective devices have been mounted forward of the grip bars on the frame members of chain saws to provide a means of preventing the saws from pivoting in the event of such a recoil, but use of such guards has met with limited success.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved chain saw guard, and particularly, a pivotally mounted chain saw guard and safety bar mechanism which provides positive protection against injury from chain saw recoil.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved safety bar and safety bar mechanism for mounting on chain saws which permits the saw to operate in normal fashion while making ordinary cuts, while at the same time provides a positive measure of protection in the event of recoil or "kick backs" resulting when the saw strikes an exceptionally hard piece of wood, a nail or other material in the saw stock.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a safety bar and safety bar mechanism for mounting on chain saws which automatically and pivotally swings upwardly as ordinary cuts are made with the saw from top to bottom through a log or other saw stock, and which mechanism may be selectively manipulated and rotated downwardly to position the safety bar below the operating chain when it is desired to make a cut through the saw stock from bottom to top.
Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved safety bar and safety bar mechanism or guard for chain saws which is characterized by a U shaped safety bar projecting from a pivoting bar latch mechanism and extending the entire length of the chain and chain bar, and which is further capable of being quickly and easily mounted to substantially any chain saw to provide positive protection against injury in the event the chain saw kicks rearwardly and/or upwardly in unexpected recoil during the cutting operation.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved safety bar and safety bar mechanism for chain saws which features a U shaped safety bar extending the entire length of the chain saw bar and chain and which offers protection from all areas of the chain in the event of recoil during operation of the chain saw.
Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved chain saw safety bar and safety bar mechanism which can be easily removed from and placed back on substantially any chain saw in a short amount of time with the use of ordinary tools.